It’s official. The Kimber Custom II single-stack .45 1911(5" Government Model) has apparently defeated all comers, and is thus slated to rest on the thighs of all LAPD SWAT operators in the very near future. For an LE SWAT/SRT contract, it’s a big one–160 guns(2 per operator). The significance of the Kimber Custom II’s adoption is magnified by the fact that the LAPD SWAT team is, as far as DefRev is aware, currently rated as the #1 SWAT team in the country. The Kimber Custom II 1911 was selected after a reportedly rather gruelling two-year test, during which…
four other companies competed against Kimber for the LAPD SWAT contract. DefRev is curious to know who those other companies are, and shall research it.

With regards to the guns themselves, each LAPD SWAT Kimber Custom II will come with a reliability work-over(including polished breech face), match-grade barrel and trigger group, full-length guide rod, Meprolight tritium night sights, 30 lpi-checkered front strap, front and rear slide serrations, and matte-black oxide finish. Each gun will also display "LAPD SWAT" roll-markings on the right side of the slide, and special serial numbers exclusive to the team.

DefRev will research the situation in order to find out more about the guns, including getting pictures. We will also try to get ahold of LAPD SWAT’s testing protocols for the competition, as well as the resulting hard data. I’d be particularly curious to find out whether or not Wilson Combat, Springfield Armory, and Colt also competed in the tests. LAPD SWAT has been going "cocked and locked" with customized Colt .45 single-stacks for quite a long time. From what I’ve been told, they’ve always been partial to Colt autos on that team. I would therefore be very surprised if Colt didn’t have at least a little bit of the inside track during the competition, if they were indeed a competitor. If that were the case, it would only serve to make Kimber’s victory an even more significant coup.

About David Crane

David Crane started publishing online in 2001. Since that time, governments, military organizations, Special Operators (i.e. professional trigger pullers), agencies, and civilian tactical shooters the world over have come to depend on Defense Review as the authoritative source of news and information on "the latest and greatest" in the field of military defense and tactical technology and hardware, including tactical firearms, ammunition, equipment, gear, and training.